Musical instrument



Sept. 8, 1925;

C. S. MUDGE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed April 25. 1923 IN VEN TOR PatentedSept. 8, 1925.

UNITED STATES CLARK S. MUDGE, OE DAMASCUS, OREGON.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Application filed April 23, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARK. S. MUDGE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Damascus, in the county of Clackamas and State of Oregon,have invented a new and useful Musical Instrument, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in musical instrument in which atongue-like membrane is held in a clamp and placed against the lips toproduce a musical sound by blowing.

The objects of my invention are to produce an instrument Which First,small enough to be carried in a vest pocket;

Second, requires only one hand for playing, leaving the other hand freefor the manipulation of an accompanying instrument such as bones, bassdrums, castanets, cymbals, xylophones or other such like instrumentsThird, does not require any tuning;

Fourth, plays anytune in any key, in sharps or flats, loud or soft;

Fifth, accords with all other instruments in bands, orchestras or drumcorps;

Sixth, can be played by any one who can whistle;

Seventh, furnishes an excellent lung exer cise;

Eighth, furnishes a delightful entertainment, even when played withoutaccompaniment;

Ninth, produces a peculiarly sweet and beutiful tone, comparable to asaxaphone, fife, flute, piccolo or similar pipe instrument's;

Tenth, can be learned with a minimum of effort.

Other objects and advantages are to be found in the construction andarrangements of parts as will be described in the specification andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

I attain these objects with themechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1, is a front elevation of my device in fullsize.

Fig. 2, is a rear elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section through Fig. 1 on a somewhat enlargedscale to show the details of construction more clearly.

Fig. 4-, gives an approximate idea of the Serial No. 633,824.

manner in which the instrument is employed.

Fig. 5 13 the same device as shown in the previous figures, except thativory, celluloid,

hard rubber or wood is substituted for the metal clamps.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A tongue or membrane 1, preferably of celluloid, is placed against aloop of soft, flexible rubber 9.. The upper edge of the tongue isrounded off semi-circularly and projects above the loop. Tongue and loopare separated by a thin strip of celluloid 3, which latter encircles theloop and, together with the tongue and loop, is held in a clamp whereoflis the front member and '5 the rear member. By means of the bolts 6 allof the above named elements are rigidly connected with each other. Thefront member 4 reaches only to the bottom of the loop, thus leaving thelatter exposed throughout its entire height, to be pressed against thelips when necessary. The back member 5 curves around the loop nearly tothe top, and furnishes acounter bearing whereby the loop can becompressed when it is de sired to shorten the vibrating length of thetongue and to obtain a higher pitch of tone.

The celluloid strip 3, by furnishing a smooth contact line for thetongue, greatly improves the tone qualities without detracting from theflexibility and compressibility of the loop.

If the clamping members are made of metal, as indicated in Figs. 3 and4:, they are preferably stamped of one piece, and the lateral edges maybe turned over as shown at 7. If ivory, pyrolin or wood is employed, themembers are made separate, and the lateral edges of the inserted membersmay be left uncovered.

In playing, the instrument is held bet-ween the thumb and index fingerof one hand, and a current of air, issuing between the contracted lips,is permitted to strike against the upper edge of the tongue 1, and atapproximately right angles to the surface of said tongue, producing apecu liarly sweet and mellow tone.

Having thus described my invention, it will be seen that my objects havebeen accomplished and, though I have shown the preferred form ofconstruction, I reserve to myself the right to make minor changes,

providing I do not violate the spirit and principle of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a musical instrument, the combination of a vibrating tongue, witha compressible loop backing the lower end of the tongue.

2. In a musical instrument, the combination o1 a Vibrating tongue havingthe upper edge rounded to a sen'iici.rclc, with a com pressible loopbacking the lower end of the tongue.

3. In a musical lllStlUlllGIlt, the combination of a vibrating tongue,with a compressible loop backing the lower end of the tongue, and meansfor holding tongue and loop lirmly together.

In a musical instrument, the combination of a vibrating tongue, avariable backing at the lower end of the tongue, said backing includinga loop of soft rubber, and a clamp holding loop and tongue lirnilytogether.

5. In a musical instrument, the combination of a vibrating tongue, avariable backing at the lower end of the tongue. said backing includingav thin strip of celluloid bent into a loop, and av clamp holding theloop of celluloid and the tongue firmly together.

6. In a musical instrument, the combination of a vibrating tongue, avariable burl:- ing at the lower end of the tongue, said backingcomprising a loop of soft rubber and a covering o'l. celluloid over therubber, and a clamp holding the tongue, rubber loop and celluloidcovering lirn'il'y together.

7. In a musical instrument, the combina tion o'l vibrating tongue, avariable backing at the lower end of the tongue, and a clamp holding thetongue and backing firmly together, said clamp having a front men'iberextending to the bottom of the buck ing and a rear member extendingaround and to the top of the backing.

S. In a musical instrun'ient. the combina lion of a clamp, a tongueprojecting beyond the upper edge of the clamp, a rubber strip in. theclamp parallel to the tongue and forming a loop beyond the upper edge ofthe clamp but below the upper edge of the tongue, a. celluloid stripenclosing the loop and separating the tongue from the rubber, and boltsthrough the clamp holding the tongue, rubber strip and celluloid stripfirinly together.

Signed by me at Portland, Oregon this 16th day of April, IDLE C. 5.MUDGE.

